


Let's go camping!

by awkwardkermitfrog



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Camping, Creepy, Horror, Murder, Other, abandoned campgrounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 12:44:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12081309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardkermitfrog/pseuds/awkwardkermitfrog
Summary: @mythical-kpuff on tumblr gave me this prompt: he guys plan a camping weekend but when they show up at the place they found online its decrepit and run down, old buildings look burnt down and deserted. In the middle of nowhere with the light of the day running out they have no choice but to put up their tent... things go bump in the night. (can totally just be without rhink, just friends camping.) It definitely became more than just a ficlet.





	Let's go camping!

“You ready Link?” Rhett called from the driver’s seat of the SUV. He looked at Link’s reflection in the rear view mirror as his friend adjusted the suitcases and other items they would be bringing with them. 

“Yeah, almost!” Link yelled back. “Just gotta text Christy real quick, since we’re not going to have signal at the camp ground.” 

Rhett nodded back at him and reached down to take a drink from his Gatorade. He and Link finally had a getaway weekend, complete with camping, hiking, and hopefully a chance to make s’mores around the fire - provided it didn’t rain too much. With Good Mythical Morning, the book, and Buddy System Season Two all happening at once, they didn’t get many weekends like this to just hang out, and Rhett was looking forward to it immensely. 

“Okay, you ready?” Link asked as he climbed into the passenger’s seat. 

“Yep. Let’s get going.” 

* * *

  
  


“...I see an… J.” Link said, pointing at a sign as they went by. “I’m beatin’ you!” He teased, nudging Rhett with his elbow. 

Rhett just grunted. “How far away are we?” He asked, annoyed. It was hard to play the alphabet game while you were driving.

“Uh.. let’s see.” Link looked out the window at the passing exits. “About ten minutes.”

“Good. We’re almost out of gas. We’re going to have to get some on the way back.” Rhett gasped. “E! I’m catching up!”

“K!” Link squealed. “Ha!”

“That’s not fair, that was a liscense plate, not a sign. It’s supposed to be signs only.” 

“You never said that when we were started.” Link wagged his tongue and laughed as Rhett rolled his eyes, turning off onto the exit. The two continued to tease each other, laughing, joking as they always had. It was like a drink of cold water on a hot summer day; refreshing and nourishing at the same time. Their friendship had endured a lot over the years, and with all the talk of business and the business of their family lives, it was nice to just get away from it all. Link hadn’t even brought his laptop or an idea notebook, taking an uncharacteristic break from his usual neurotic self. Rhett figured that the trip would be good to talk about on a podcast, but otherwise wasn’t concerning himself with work. For the weekend, it was just the two of them and the wilderness, and they didn’t need anything else. 

Rhett took a left off the highway into a large wooded area. The orange and green trees, some still turning in the early autumn weather, surrounded the car and cast them in shadow. He looked at the car clock. 7:23pm. The sun would be going down soon, and it would be the perfect time to sit around the campfire. He enjoyed the feeling of isolation, the thought that they were out in the middle of nowhere with no one else around for miles and miles. He looked over at Link, whose blue eyes seemed to shine more brightly in the twilight. 

“I think this is where we check in.” Link said, gesturing to what looked like a wooden toll booth. Rhett pulled up and rolled his window down, and waited. 

The booth was empty. 

“Huh.” Rhett mused, looked out down what turned into a gravel road. “Maybe they’re on break.” 

“Maybe.” Link looked past Rhett into the darkened booth. “Should we wait?” 

“I don’t know.” Rhett shifted the car into park and looked curiously down the road, but there were only more trees and the impending darkness. “I say we go on in. We’ve already paid for the weekend. This was just to show them our pass.”

“Alright.” Link shrugged in agreement. “It’s not like we’re trespassing, after all.”

“Nope.” 

Rhett continued to drive up into the campground, deeper into the woods and darkness. He was reminded a little of a ghost story he’d read as a child where a young man decided to explore an abandoned campground alone to discover a recent murder. He ignored the shiver it sent up his spine in favor of more rational thinking; the person at the gate had just been on a break, that was all. 

“Oh hey, the cabins!” Link sat up and smiled as they pulled up to a few cabins next to one another, with space for parking out front. His smile lessened, however, when he saw the condition they were in. On the far right, a broken window and a sagging porch. Next to it, a broken in doorway and a screen door off its hinges. Next to that, two broken windows and a wasp’s nest that had gone to sleep. On each cabin there appeared to be rotting wood, boards cracked, and spider webs everywhere. It looked like they had been abandoned for years.

“This can’t be right.” Rhett parked the car on the street in front of the cabins. He cursed the engine sputtered and died, telling them both that they should’ve gotten gas on the highway. “This place looks abandoned, man.”

“Maybe the real cabins are just up the road a ways.” Link suggested. “Maybe these are just part of some old part of the place.”

“Maybe.” Rhett put the car in park and unbuckled his seat beat. “We’ve got a tent anyway, right?”

“Why would we have a tent? We were planning to sleep in a cabin.” Link pointed out, agitated. “Better get our stuff.”

“Do we have sleeping bags? Did you pack sleeping bags?” Rhett’s question was less of a question and more of a statement that spoke volumes. He followed Link back to the trunk of the car as Link unlocked it to reveal two blankets, two suitcases, and one cooler of snacks. 

“No, I didn’t. We weren’t planning to use them.” Link snapped. “It didn’t make sense at the time. And we’ll just have to walk down the road a bit for our cabin. It’s not a big deal.” 

Rhett shook his head in frustration and looked over at the cabin. He looked at the upstairs window and found himself tapping Link on the shoulder in rapid succession. “Look!”

“What?” Link asked, annoyed. He followed Rhett’s gaze up to the attic window of the middle cabin where there was a little girl. Only - no. Her face was cracked and her dress was old. Her eyes stared, unblinking, out into the night. A doll. 

“Isn’t that creepy?” Rhett’s voice was quiet and a little breathless. 

“Yeah, that’s pretty creepy.” Link agreed. “We should get going.” 

The two men walked along, pulling their wheeled suitcases behind them, their blankets under their arms. As they continued to walk further down the road, both men felt goosebumps prickle up their arms and give them shivers down their backs. Rhett looked over at Link, who was staring out ahead of them, humming to himself, and wondered why there were three abandoned cabins right at the start of the grounds. It felt unnatural. Something else felt unnatural. Almost like being watched. Rhett looked around at either side of them, the sensation making him both inquisitive as well as nervous. On either side of them were trees, but they were thinning. Up ahead were more buildings. From this distance, Rhett couldn’t tell if they were occupied, but he noticed it was curious that no lights were on, considering the sun was going down quickly. The haze of sunset settled in around them and both men found themselves swatting at the occasional mosquito and gnat. They glanced at each other, a look that said “which one of us forgot the bug spray”, and left it at that, both figuring that it was more important to settle in for the time being than it was to argue.

“Hey look, there’s the sign.” Link gestured to a tall wooden sign reading  _ Crystal Campgrounds  _ swinging in the wind with one single lamp, dimly illuminating the grounds. With each swing it gave a little creak, adding to the feeling of isolation. Earlier, Rhett had been anticipating enjoying the feeling; now it put a pit in his stomach. 

They walked together out to the sign, which stood in the middle of a circle of cabins and buildings. One building said “office” on its door in large green, peeling letters. The two men stopped and looked around at their surroundings, their hopes quickly dissipating. Each building was just as derelict and empty as the cabins they had parked their car next to. There were bits of peeling paint here and there, broken windows, and trash scattered here and there. It was unnerving.

“You sure we went to the right address?” Link asked, pulling the hand written address out of his pocket. “6100 Woodley Avenue?” 

“Yeah, this is where the map said to go.” Rhett set the suitcase upright and placed his blanket on top before walking up to the office building. 

“Rhett, no one’s going to be in there, come on.” Link whispered through his teeth. “No one has clearly been here in years.”

“Well maybe someone’s here.” Rhett looked back and shrugged. “Maybe this place is just really shitty once you get here.” He gingerly stepped up onto the porch, making sure the rotting wood wasn’t going to collapse under his weight, and went up to the door. “Hello?” 

“Rhett, no one is here. We should leave. Or call a tow truck.” Link hissed. “Rhett!” He got out his phone and shone the light after him. “Rhett get back here!”

“Calm down.” Rhett snapped back at him. “I’m just gonna peek inside.” He lightly pushed the door and almost winced as it squeaked, the high pitched noise making his ears hurt. “I’m just gonna peek inside.” He said again, more to himself. He got his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight, looking all around at the debris. Papers littered desks and were scattered everywhere. The furniture was either broken or on the brink of collapse. Rust caked every metal corner. Rhett continued to look out around the room, shining his flashlight into the different areas. He paused when he noticed on one wall a handprint, and next to it, notches into the wood. He reached out, running his hand along the marks, trying to determine what their cause might’ve been.

Rhett walked out of the cabin, visibly more agitated than before. He walked over to Link, who had his phone out and was attempting to get a signal. “Man, something’s wrong with this place.”

“That’s what I said!” Link held his phone to his ear, walking back and forth, the nerves too much for him to handle. “Come on Christy, come on, come on…” He put the phone down and gritted his teeth in frustration. “It wouldn’t even ring.” 

“Well there’s no towers out here.” Rhett looked down at his own phone and frowned. “Wait. That’s weird, the screen is all messed up.” He held it up to Link who saw that there was pixelation throughout the screen and little lines everywhere. 

“Mine was doing that too.” Link pulled out his phone and showed Rhett where there were little pixelated lines and spots. “I can still use it, but it’s definitely messed up.” He put it back in his pocket and looked up at his friend. “I think we’re gonna have to stay here.”

“Uh.. no.” Rhett looked back at the office and then to Link. “Something’s really not right here. We need to get going.”

“And what? Walk down the highway? It was miles ago that we even saw a gas station.” Link looked around at the empty buildings and felt himself involuntarily shudder. “It is creepy as hell though.”

“Yeah. Which is why I don’t want to stay here.” Rhett countered. He sighed in frustration. “I don’t know, man. It just doesn’t feel like we should be here.”

“I know, but I don’t see how we have another choice.” Link sat down next to his suitcase in the grass and looked out at the barely lit cabins, their abandoned states making him question the whole trip. “We could light a fire.” 

“We could get some firewood.” Rhett agreed. “I’ll go behind the cabins, you set out the blankets.” 

“Okay. Holler if you need me.” 

Rhett turned away from him, getting out his phone again to shine it into the darkness. The snapping of twigs under his feet made him nervous, the moans of light breezes against the cabins made his heart stammer. He held his phone out like a shield in the darkness, his eyes not quite adjusting to the edges of the light. He walked around the back of the first cabin and was delighted to find an old stack of wood was located behind the back wall. He was reaching down to pick up a piece when he heard a yell, jolting him from his responsibility. He looked around the cabin to see Link running at him, full speed, his face white with terror. 

“Run!” He shrieked, yanking on Rhett’s shirt, pulling him along. “Rhett, dammit-” 

Rhett felt his body wake up and he followed Link, running behind the cabins and back out along the gravel road that had gotten them there. Rhett looked at Link, trying to figure out what had made him run so suddenly and so fast, how his legs were still pumping in desperation. He was beginning to feel his lungs burn when Link finally slowed down and looked behind them, his eyes still wide, sweat running down his face. He watched as Link put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath as best he could.

“Link, what-” Rhett choked on the words as his lung were still not filled with air. “Link what was that? We left all our stuff!” He waited as Link stood up and put his hands behind his head, still taking short breaths.

“There was this guy - there was this guy. And he just had on this mask - and he had an axe.” Link’s words were frantic, spoken with true panic. “And he just was walking out of the office - and he looked really dangerous, and I just -” He stopped and held up his hand. “I’m sorry man. We’ll go back for our stuff with the cops. I’m not going alone.” 

Rhett eyed his friend up and down. He remembered the hand print, the marks in the wall. “He came out of the office?”

“Yeah man, he just - he just came out at me!” Link gestured wildly. “You probably don’t believe me.” 

“I do.” Rhett nodded. “I do.” 

“We need to get out of here.” Link shook his head. “We need to leave.” 

“Yeah, I know. We will.” Rhett assured Link, putting his hand on his shoulder. “We’re gonna be fine. Alright?” 

“Alright.” Link nodded. “Alright.”

They began to walk down the road, not speaking to each other, extremely vigilant. Both men felt their hairs standing on end as they took step after step, continuing as fast as reason would allow, darkness surrounding them. The darkness in the trees was foreboding and it made both of them wish for daylight, any light. Rhett got out his cell phone and used the flashlight function to light the way, looking out into the nothingness and hoping to find rocks at his feet. The air was chilly and the trees were a perfect place for someone to hide, a thought that made Rhett walk faster. It wasn’t long until he looked to his left and realized Link wasn’t beside him any more. 

“Link?” Rhett called out. “Buddy?” 

The only response was the wind through the trees and the sound of soft footsteps, letting Rhett know that he would soon be wherever Link had ended up. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments feed my hungry soul mushroom burgers.


End file.
